> So the filenames could be edited as usual text: with the help of isearch-query-replace-regexp, macros and other cool Emacs features.

One dired/wdired feature I use all the time is to edit filenames by using multiple cursors. Either that or, as TFA mentions, keyboard macros. It's really powerful.

The author also has a blog entry about getting rid of use-package:

https://eugene-andrienko.com/2025-10-10-emacs-ditch-use-pack...

It's funny because my config is a half-arsed one where it's partially use-package and partially old-school config. It's an old config and at some point I move to use-package and now I moved back to "not use-package" but I mostly kept the part that are using use-package as-is.

I've got about 3000 to 4000 elisp config lines. And counting...